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Hand Paintings by Guido Daniele

Guido Daniele was born in Soverato (Italy) and now lives and works in Milan. He graduated from Brera School of Arts and he has been painting and participating in personal and group art exhibitions since 1968. In 1972 he started working as hyper-realistic illustrator, in co-operation with major editing and advertising companies, using and testing different painting techniques. In 1990 he added a new artistic experience to his previous ones: using the body painting technique he creates and paints models bodies for advertising pictures and commercials, fashion events and exhibitions.

The "Handimals" collection originally started when Daniele was hired by an advertising agency to do some body paintings of animals. Instantly he took passion in the idea. "I researched each animal in depth to see how I could transfer it to a hand, and then set about bringing it to life." The first "Handimal" was the cheetah, and to this day is still his favorite. "It turned out perfectly the first time and gave me the courage to complete the rest of the set."

Most commonly, Daniele uses his son (Michael James, 15) and daughter (Ginevra, 22) as his primary canvases. "If you're spending hours on end holding someone's hand, I'd rather it be the hand of someone I love. There's nothing worse than working with a nervous, unfamiliar model whose hands are shaking." On average the typical "Handimal" takes around three to four hours to paint in its entirety. However the first time Daniele painted the eagle with outstretched wings clocked in at ten hours upon completion.

Daniele admits that the hardest part is not the painting itself, but rather having to watch his paintings be washed down the drain and disappear on a daily basis. "I'm getting used to it. At least I get to start each day with a fresh canvas."